Ukraine charged on April 28 that Russia's effort to have international authorities arrest and extradite former Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk is "politically motivated."

A Russian court issued an international arrest warrant and extradition request for Yatsenyuk in February, claiming he killed Russian soldiers in Chechnya in the 1990s -- an allegation that Yatsenyuk has called "total absurdity."

Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who said Interpot sent him a copy of the Russian request, said Yatsenyuk has never been to Chechnya.

Yatsenyuk was a leading figure in the massive protests that drove a Ukrainian president who was friendly to Russia out of office in 2014. He became prime minister and held that office until April 2016.